


Parallel Lines

by briqhtliqhts



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-24
Updated: 2018-01-24
Packaged: 2019-03-09 02:41:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13471968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/briqhtliqhts/pseuds/briqhtliqhts
Summary: “What did Hopper say t’ya this morning?” He asked, glancing at the girl. It was his one rule of taking her. If they weren’t going to inform the Chief about them going then she at least needed to check in with him once they were a decent distance away. He was trying to be responsible for once in his life.“Said we had to have a… a… conversation.”“A serious one?”“Yes.”





	Parallel Lines

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Alieney](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alieney/gifts).



> So this may seem like its the middle of a story but after talking with momjeansformomsteve on tumblr I couldn't get this idea out of my head and I love B11 so much that I just couldn't help myself

The sun shone through the window of the Camaro on that early morning, the start to another long day on the road. They could have already been there by now, if he had just decided to keep on driving through the night. Instead he pulled into the lot of a shady motel - it wasn’t the greatest but it was what they had - and had crashed on the dirty floor whilst the precious cargo crashed out on the bed after it was the only room available.

When he’d first offered up the suggestion, after taking El to meet her ‘Mama’, he didn’t think that they’d ever actually being doing this. ‘This’ being dragging a little girl across the country because she was determined to meet his ‘Mama’ too. He’d said it almost as an empty promise, “maybe one day you can meet my mom too”, to fill the girl with some courage after she’d told him about what to expect, how upset she had got the last time that she had visited her. It had made him want to turn the car around and head straight back to the Cabin because he was not about to be responsible for an upset, crazy, psychic little girl. A promise was a promise, though, and  _ friends don’t lie.  _

“What did Hopper say t’ya this morning?” He asked, glancing at the girl. It was his one rule of taking her. If they weren’t going to inform the Chief about them going then she at least needed to check in with him once they were a decent distance away. He was trying to be responsible for once in his life.

“Said we had to have a… a… conversation.”

“A serious one?”

“Yes.”

Billy sighed and leaned his head back against the headrest of the chair, keeping his eyes on the road as well as he could. Hopper was definitely going to beat his ass. He was going to get back to Hawkins and then he was going to be arrested for kidnap or something all because he couldn’t say no to the girl. She almost had him wrapped around her finger as much as Harrington did.

“Listen, I’ll take the fall when we get back right? I promised. And friends don’t lie.”

He could feel her eyes on him without even looking at her. She was spookily quiet right now and he was kind of worried that she was searching through his head, that she was about to figure out just how-

“Scared.”

Oh, so she was in there. He didn’t need to talk about this right now. Didn’t want to talk about it until he absolutely had to.

Rather than give her an explanation he simply turned his eyes back onto the road fully, his foot pressing down a little harder on the accelerator, the revs becoming that little bit louder.

Unlike Max, El didn’t seem to have a problem with the noise and the speed and as long as they didn’t get caught they would be fine. “We won’t get to Cali until late, so we’ll get another motel, crash for the night, then go see… her tomorrow okay?”

He didn’t look over to her, but he took her silence as an affirmative.

*****

“Billy?”

He fought back a groan and rolled over in the small bed, looking to where El rested in the other. “S’up Curls?”

“Tomorrow… What will we do?”

Billy rubbed a hand over his face as he pushed himself so he was sitting up. “Wake up early, figure out some way to get you eggos for breakfast,” he smiled softly as her face lit up, “then… we head out to meet my mom, spend some time there, we can wander around Cali for a bit if you want, then head home, try and get as much out in one sitting, get you home and then I get my ass handed to me by Hopper and all your little nerd friends.”

He turned his head to look at the girl, hoping that that would be enough of an answer for her. Apparently it was because she was nodding her head and grinning, shuffling her way further under the thin covers. “Won’t let them hurt you.”

It made Billy laugh, really, that he’d somehow managed to get El on his side and form a relationship with her that was stronger than his and Max’s. He never thought the psychic weirdo that that Dustin kid had been yelling about would be such an important part of his life but it was as if he was being given a second chance when it came to being a better person. She was his little guardian angel and he wasn’t about to fuck this up again. 

“Go to sleep, El. We got a… long day ahead of us tomorrow.”

*****

El had been vibrating in the seat, holding the tupperware of Eggos that he’d set her up with, next to him when they left the motel that morning. Deep down he could feel guilt bubbling up in his gut because it was pretty clear that the girl was expecting something more, something better than what she was going to get. 

He didn’t let people into this part of his life. Max didn’t really know much about his mother, Susan even less and the rest of Hawkins - except maybe Hopper - knew absolutely nothing other than she wasn’t around.

Billy pulled up and killed the ignition, letting out a nervous breath. He was waiting for it all to click in El’s head. Just because she didn’t have a conventional sense of education didn’t mean that she was stupid and he knew that it wasn’t going to take long before she figured it out.

“Let’s go,” he nodded, climbing out of the car quickly.

Once El was beside him, he locked the car and turned to look up at the entryway, a light quiver in his hands as he waited, and waited, and waited, before-

“Oh.”

He bit down on his lower lip and looked to where El was still clutching that box of Eggos, though now it was a little bit tighter, her knuckles turning white as she took everything in. Without really thinking, he offered a hand out to her, “Ready?”

The look she sent him wasn’t one of pity, it was one of sadness, understanding blossoming in her eyes as she looked from his face to the hand and then back to the scene in front of him. He didn’t have to wait long before she was taking his hand and allowing him to lead her through the rows and rows of graves. 

He finally came to a standstill in front of the grave that read  _ Elizabeth Hargrove  _ and almost immediately he started to feel sick. This really was a big deal for him. He didn’t do this for people, with people, tried not to mention his mom because it was still too much for him to deal with, even after the few years that he’d had to mourn.

Without saying anything, he dropped the hand and sat himself down on the grass, slipping the denim jacket off and placing it on the floor beside him for El to join him. He wasn’t surprised to see how hesitant she was. He’d thrown her into the deep end, hadn’t been completely honest with her but this was what she’d asked for.

“I… um… I’m sorry for not- for not tell you that she’s- you know.” 

He found it so difficult to come out and openly say that she was dead, even when they were sat in front of his grave. He felt like saying it meant that she was really gone and that she wasn’t stood by his side when he needed her.

“Tell me about her?”

Billy looked to her, then back to the grave, nodding his head slowly. “She was… beautiful. She had these… these bright blue eyes. Everyone said they were like the ocean - hey, we could go see the ocean before we go, if you want? Anyway, yeah she had the blue eyes and this just… long, blonde waving hair. It was almost similar to yours, in a way, I guess. With the curls and stuff. When I was younger I always thought she was a princess or something because she was just so… soft in comparison to my dad and she cared about everyone. Not a mean bone in her body. I wish I was more like her. There was this one time where she’d went to get the groceries and when we went outside there was this old man. He must have been homeless, or something, I was only- Well. I was  younger than you, I think, and she just… did what she could to help him. Bought him some food, a hot drink. It didn’t make sense to me at the time, why she’d do it, but that was what she was like. No one was bad in her eyes and everyone deserves someone caring about them.”

He went silent for a while, just looking at the gravestone as he was flooded with memories of his mom and all the time they had spent together.

It was the sound of a Tupperware box opening that brought him out of his memories. He turned to look at El, smiling softly at her as she held out one of the now-cold Eggos.

Before he could take it, she grabbed onto his wrist, making sure he was paying attention. “Beautiful. Just like you.”

He let out a huff of a laugh and shook his head, smile on his face. “Nah kid. Just like you,” he told her, free hand ruffling her hair as he grabbed the Eggo and took a bite.

*****

They sat out there for what felt like hours, Billy recounting all the stories he could remember about time with his mom, El listening to each and every one with a big grin on her face with her mouth full of Eggos.

It was dark now, the moon was high and the little girl was curled up under his denim jacket, head resting lightly against the window of the Camaro. He should probably pull over soon, he could feel sleep tugging at him. As great as the little trip was, and as lifting as it felt to finally tell someone about his mom, he was looking back to being Hawkins - something that he never thought he’d say. Hawkins, whether he liked it or not, was his home now and with an adopted sister like El, and hopefully, someday, a step-sister like Max, well… he could definitely try and make the most of it.


End file.
